


you've exhumed my love (i've consumed your blood)

by magnoliafilms



Category: ITZY (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, Biting, Consensual Blood Drinking, F/F, Ferris Wheels, Getting Together, Girls Kissing, Mentions of Blood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-26
Updated: 2020-08-26
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:27:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,405
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26118766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magnoliafilms/pseuds/magnoliafilms
Summary: Getting stood up and broken up with all in the span of 30 seconds was one thing. And Ryujin could cope with that.But meeting a gorgeous stranger with particularly sharp incisors? Well, that's another story.
Relationships: Hwang Yeji/Shin Ryujin
Comments: 2
Kudos: 89
Collections: Girl Group Jukebox - Mixtape Round





	you've exhumed my love (i've consumed your blood)

**Author's Note:**

> Written for GG Jukebox Mixtape Round, inspired by Sick of Losing Soulmates by Dodie. 
> 
> Thank you to Ti for your help!

Ryujin hated it. 

She hated every last inch of this bloody town  — the dull grey streets, the yellowing street lights that never seemed to provide enough light, the cracks in the sidewalks and even this stupid park. 

The glitzy posters and neon signs that shone on the walls of the old fashioned cinema just added to the unbearably nauseating feelings building up inside her, pushing insistently at the fresh wounds that came with the realisation that  _ Jisu wasn’t going to show up _ .

Perhaps she  _ should _ have seen this coming. Jisu hadn’t exactly been thrilled by the idea in the first place.

They’d been dating for about a year and a half now, but deep down Ryujin was starting to feel the threads that tied them together unravel.

In all reality it was likely a hopeless effort. And Ryujin was starting to get the creeping suspicion that Jisu might be interested in someone else. 

And so Ryujin sat in the dark, playing with the dewy grass beneath her fingertips; a lonesome figure leaning against the tree, as she watched one of the employees dragging in the standing signs. 

Her phone lay unlocked on her lap, her most recent texts glaring back at her from the glowing screen. 

_ Hey! Where are you? xx _

_ I think they’re calling everyone in _

_ Ji? _

_ The movie’s started _

_ I have your ticket :) _

_ We could reschedule if you’re busy _

_ Ryujin _

_ I don’t think this is gonna work out _

_ Oh that’s ok Ji _

_ We could reschedule? _

_ No Ryujin _

_ I mean _

_ I mean us _

_ I don’t think we’re gonna work out _

_... _

_ Please don’t be too upset _

_ I would love to still be friends _

_ I’m sorry. _

_ Oh _

_ Right, Ok _

It was a strange feeling. One that she was vaguely unfamiliar with. This oddly gray area of emotion. Ryujin knew that she should probably be feeling upset. Anyone else would. But instead, she just felt numb . 

She picked at the fabric of her fishnet tights and sighed heavily. She couldn’t quite work out why she wasn’t hurting. It was as though everything had come to a glaring halt. 

“Are you alright?” a tentative voice broke through her quiet sniffles. 

Ryujin hadn’t sensed anyone approaching. Heck, she hadn't even realised she was  _ crying _ .

She wiped away a few stray tears and sniffed quietly, trying in vain to hide her watery eyes from the stranger who had most certainly already seen her brush them off. “Absolutely fine, thank you for asking.” She said evenly.

“Oh okay,” the girl trailed off, “You looked like you’d been crying… just wanted to make sure.”

Ryujin finally turned to look at the stranger properly, and was immediately entranced. The girl was wearing all black, and fishnets that practically put Ryujin’s own to shame. The stranger had unfairly clear skin and shining eyes that seemed to reflect the light at the oddest angles.

But what piqued her interest most were the identical pearly white fangs that poked over the edges of her bottom lip. 

“You have…” Ryujin paused, unable to complete her words, a hand moving upward to point at her own mouth. 

“Oh.” The stranger repeated, looking a little startled, “I can put them away if that would make you more comfortable.”

“I didn’t know you could do that.”

The stranger grinned, the corners of her mouth lifting, putting the whole set of her teeth on display. Ryujin watched, fascinated as the fangs shrunk to resemble a more normal pair of canines with a wet sounding click. 

She was still entranced by the way the fangs still retained that pointy sharpness, when the full weight of the situation hit her. “Wait so you’re a…”

“Vampire.” The stranger confirmed with a nod. It seemed as though she had done this more than a few times. “My name’s Yeji.”

Ryujin paused for a moment as she was unsure how to properly respond in such a situation. After a moment's deliberation, she stuck out a hand awkwardly in front of her, “Ryujin.”

Yeji shook her hand with an eye crinkling smile, “Lovely to meet you Ryujin.” 

A few moments passed in silence as they simply watched each other.

Ryujin was fully aware that she was staring, and for some reason Yeji let her.

“So..” Ryujin trailed off awkwardly, “can I ask you something?” 

Yeji only looked back at her with an imploring gaze and a raised eyebrow, so Ryujin continued on, “You’re not going to..  _ eat  _ me or anything.. are you?”

Yeji chuckled, flicking out her fangs once more, head tilted at an angle where the lights from the cinema caught on her teeth, making her smirk look like it’d been set alight, “Only if you want me to.”

Ryujin felt her face flush at the comment, “Uhm, no thank you.” She managed as politely as she could. She wasn’t particularly in the mood to get devoured or drained dry that evening. 

There was another mutual silence, but it wasn’t awkward. Not at all. They were simply two strangers, sitting side by side underneath a tree.

Ryujin tapped the screen of her phone, making it light up. The glowing numbers at the top of the screen indicated that it was likely time for her to go home, or at least begin making her way there, and yet the lack of text messages only seemed to make her want to stay out for longer.

“Can  _ I  _ ask  _ you _ a question?” Yeji suddenly spoke, surprising Ryujin.

Without a second thought, Ryujin nodded, hoping that she wouldn’t regret this decision.

“What are you doing out here?” Yeji pressed her index finger against one of her fangs and as she spoke, her lips caught against the skin. Ryujin found herself staring again, impossibly entranced. 

It took her a moment to register that she had, in fact, been asked a question.

“It’s… A long story…” Ryujin said at last. It felt like a fairly good summary.

But Yeji smiled, grinning with something on the edge of dangerous. “Darling,” She said, and Ryujin felt a shudder run up her spine, “All I have is time. Shall we go for a walk?”

Ryujin nodded and slowly pushed herself up, dusting the remnants of the grass and dirt off her hands before extending a hand to Yeji, who accepted it gratefully.

They set off, moving through the darkened streets, Ryujin’s heeled boots clicking loudly on the concrete, while Yeji moved soundlessly beside her.

“So?” The vampire prompted. 

Ryujin sighed, bringing up a hand to swipe it across her face, only to find that the tears that had fallen had already dried, leaving her skin tacky, almost damp. “I suppose the short version is that my girlfriend just broke up with me.”

Yeji said nothing, and Ryujin took that as an indication to continue. “We were supposed to meet at the theatre for a date. She was late, so I stayed outside to wait for her. But she texted me like fifteen minutes after the film started to tell me she wasn’t coming and that it was over.”

“Ouch,” Yeji winced, rather unsympathetically, “That sucks... “ and then laughed, “Get it? Sucks!” 

Ryujin couldn’t help herself, the abysmal attempt at a joke sent them both into a fit of giggles. Ryujin looked up, when the laughter finally died down, and found Yeji already watching her with a curious expression.

“What?” She raised an eyebrow, “Do I have something on my face?”

She raised a hand to wipe her mouth subconsciously, but before she knew it Yeji’s hand shot out and cupped her face, fingers pressed against the skin of her cheek.

Yeji’s hands were impossibly cold, though Ryujin supposed that was to be expected when you were  _ undead. _

Ryujin almost startled, Yeji was suddenly just a bit too close. Ryujin found her eyes fixated on Yeji’s mouth. Her lips were painted a dark shade of maroon, and Ryujin found the contrast particularly endearing.

“Your cheeks are red,” Yeji noted quietly, almost like it wasn't meant to be heard by anyone but herself, “I’d forgotten human skin did that.”

If it was possible, Ryujin would have blushed even harder. Yeji’s own skin remained the same as it had been when they’d met, there wasn’t even a hint of pink behind the paleness of her complexion. 

“And yours aren’t.” Ryujin said, trying to seem nonchalant about the hand pressed gently against her skin, “Is that a vampire thing? Or just a  _ you _ thing.”

Yeji slowly pulled her hand away, and Ryujin almost breathed a sigh of relief. 

“A vampire thing… I think…” Yeji paused for a moment, “I mean… I’d hope it was, I’ve only met like… Three vampires, and they were all major assholes.”

Ryujin laughed and moved away, trying discreetly to put some distance between them. They resumed walking again, dead leaves crunching under their feet. 

Ryujin wasn't where exactly they were going. Yeji had been leading before, and she could have been luring Ryujin to her secret vampire dungeon for all she knew. 

“What's it like? You know… Being a vampire.”

Yeji sighed and looked down, kicking a stray pebble with the tip of her heeled boots. It rolled away with a faint clatter as Yeji lifted her head back up, a thoughtful expression on her face.. 

“Uhm, I mean sure. I don’t really know where to start…” her eyes flickered, and her face lit up,    
“I don’t have blood!”

Ryujin laughed and smiled encouragingly, “What’s that like?”

“Oh you know, I get really cold, and my skin’s a lot paler than it was when I was alive, but overall it’s not that bad. Definitely not the worst side effect of the afterlife. What else... “ She frowned as though trying to gather her thoughts.

“I mean I don’t really breathe, I guess it has something to do with my lungs dying with the rest of my body.”

“So you could breathe underwater?” Ryujin asked genuinely curious, mind racing with possibilities. 

“In theory, yes. In actuality… I can’t swim…” Yeji admitted, and her eyebrows creased with something akin to shame. 

“That’s so cool.” Ryujin said simply staring up at the night sky as she walked, “But… How do you get turned? How did you become a vampire?”

Ryujin didn’t miss the miniscule way Yeji winced at the question, and immediately felt bad. “Shoot… Was that insensitive? I’m sorry…”

Yeji laughed at that, something somber and almost self-deprecating, “No, no. It’s not that. It's just  _ how _ I got turned.”

“Oh dear,” Ryujin said, a little concerned about the story that was to come. She wondered how long ago it had been, and just how old Yeji  _ actually  _ was. She looked about just as old as Ryujin, but the fangs seemed to say otherwise.

“It’s kind of embarrassing.” Yeji confessed, keeping her eyes focused on the path ahead. “Promise me you won’t laugh.” 

She stuck out a pinky in front of Ryujin as they walked, and Ryujin took it without a second thought. “I promise.” She said earnestly. 

“Well you see,” Yeji started, she spoke with her hands, great sweeping gestures that pulled Ryujin in, “It was my first year of university. And… There was this girl.”

“Ah,” Ryujin said. Yeji could have said nothing more and Ryujin would have understood. 

“She was beautiful, and alluring, and everything I’d ever hoped to be. I could never tell whether I was in love with her, or if I just wanted to be her. I didn’t know what she was in the beginning, maybe I should have caught on sooner. She was older, in her third year, if I remember correctly. I just didn’t realise quite how much older she actually was.” Yeji sighed, there was something hopeless in her eyes. Something dastardly and disappointed. “I should have known it was too good to be true, I thought we were meant to be, like soulmates or something. She kissed me behind the library. Told me it wouldn’t hurt at all. And in all honesty, she wasn’t wrong… She just left out the part about the actual turning.”

Ryujin frowned, and was almost tempted to reach out and take Yeji’s hand into her own. 

“The bite wasn’t painful. I guess it’s something in the fangs. Everything felt numb, like I'd been pumped with anesthetic. And then it was cold, so cold. Because of the blood loss I suppose... But the feeling when your heart stops? When you know for sure that you’ve actually  _ died _ is the worst.”

Ryujin winced, it was still taking her a while to process the fact that the girl standing next to her – the one with the face-splitting smile, and wonderful laugh and glittering eyes – was dead. 

“She stayed with me through most of it,” Yeji continued, “I suppose she felt sorry for me. But there wasn’t much she could do, the damage had already been done. She brought me food when I eventually got through it and then vanished. Just... disappeared off the face of the earth.”

Ryujin reached out at that, gently touching the exposed skin of Yeji’s forearm, “That’s awful.” She said, trying to sound as kind and comforting as she could, “I’m so sorry that happened to you.”

Yeji shrugged, regaining her practically unbothered demeanor and stretching her face into a tight smile, “It’s alright, It was years ago now. Not much I can do about it.”

The silence that followed wasn’t uncomfortable, and the soft night time sounds that accumulated around them were pleasant and unobtrusive. Ryujin glanced up and noticed the neon lights of the local evening fair. 

She nudged Yeji gently and pointed up at the top of the glowing ferris wheel that was slowly turning against the dark backdrop of the night sky. 

“We should go.” Ryujin said firmly. It sounded less like a suggestion and more like a confirmation. “It'll be fun.”

Yeji hummed, tipping her head forwards in the slightest fraction of a nod, “Sure. I do have to warn you though, I don’t _ usually _ go to these kinds of things.”

They continued along the pavement, steps falling quietly in sync as they moved. 

The noise that radiated from the fair was almost overwhelming. Ryujin didn’t mind crowds, and the people that bustled around the packed area for the most part stayed to themselves.

They had just pushed past a particularly noisy group of high school students when Ryujin felt an absence in the air behind her. She turned to find Yeji standing a few steps behind her. Her eyes were closed, mouth pressed into a thin line, but Ryujin could see the slight bulges where her fangs were being concealed beneath her bottom lip.

She stepped closer to Yeji, and whispered into her ear, “Do we need to go somewhere quieter?”

Yeji nodded, keeping her eyes closed and mouth shut. Ryujin held out a hand and took Yeji’s, pulling her gently through the crowd. The line for the ferris wheel was shorter than Ryujin had expected, and glancing around, she realised it was probably the most deserted area of the entire fair ground.

The food stands were bursting with customers, piled up in queues waiting to order a steaming hot plate of greasy fairground food or a deep fried hot dog on a stick. 

Ryujin maneuvered them into the queue for the ferris wheel, there were just three couples in front of them, and Ryujin hoped that Yeji would be able to hold on until they were inside.

“Just a few more minutes, then we’ll be out of the way.” Ryujin whispered, squeezing Yeji’s hand tightly. Yeji nodded, keeping her eyes closed, she leaned heavily against Ryujin’s shoulder and breathed out a heavy sigh. 

“Ok,” she said quietly. One of the couples got on an empty carriage and the line shifted forwards.

At last they reached the front. Ryujin handed over the money required for both tickets. The operator smiled at the pair as Ryujin helped Yeji onto the carriage and shut the door behind them. 

Yeji slumped against the side of the carriage and didn’t move again until the wheel had begun to move again. Ryujin guessed they would have at least another fifteen minutes before they would be brought back down again. 

“Are you doing alright?” She asked softly, poking Yeji’s arm, causing the other girl to startle a little. Yeji’s lips pulled back to reveal the full length of her fangs.

“How’s that going?” Ryujin asked, eyeing the tips of Yeji’s fangs

Yeji frowned and tried to stretch her lips to cover them up again. “Sorry, I haven’t really had anything to… Eat... today. All that down there,” She paused to point down at the bustling crowd beneath them, “Was a little overwhelming…”

Ryujin looked out over the fairground, relishing that miniscule moment of quietness with the near stranger beside her. “How does that work?” She eventually said.

Yeji half turned her head, “How does what work?”

Ryujin hummed, “The feeding. Like do you only drink blood? Or do you need a balanced diet of other stuff as well. How often do you have to drink blood?”

“Uhh, well for starters I don’t  _ really _ need to eat anything else… I’m dead, my internal organs don’t really work like they should. I  _ can _ eat human food. But I’m pretty sure that’s a predatory thing, because I’m usually pretty sick afterwards.” She sucked in a breath, filtering the air through the gap in her teeth, “With the blood drinking, I don’t  _ have _ to do it super often, I can get away with only drinking every few days, but doing it everyday helps me to feel alive…”

“When did you last… You know…” Ryujin said carefully, dodging around saying what she really meant. This was all still rather new to her. 

The lengthy pause that resulted from the question was concerning, to say the least. 

“Well… I think it’s been… Three? Four days?” Ryujin shot her a worried glance, and Yeji put her hands up defensively, “Well you see the thing is, I have a friend who works at the blood bank. He used to get me a couple of bags when he could, it was easier than hunting actual people, and animals just aren’t quite the same. Most of them taste muddy, and the older ones sometimes make you sick like with human food.”

“He  _ used to _ get you blood bags?”

Yeji winced, “Yeah… He kinda got caught for theft. So they fired him. It’s been kinda hard to find anything that I can stomach these days.”

Ryujin frowned and looked at her hands. They looped around each other, and she cracked each knuckle on her left hand before speaking again.

“Does it always end up with someone getting turned when you bite them?” she said just under her breath. 

She kept her eyes down, but could feel Yeji’s dark eyes on her. “No… No, you really have to drain someone properly. They have to die to be turned.”

Ryujin huffed out a shaky breath, the chilly night air spun her clouded breath into the space between them, the sky above was a picture perfect blanket of inky blackness, dotted with crystalised stars.

“You could… I mean we barely know each other… But if it would help, I don’t think I would mind…” Ryujin stammered.

“Ryujin…” Yeji started slowly, raising a cautious eyebrow, “Are you offering to let me bite you?”

Ryujin felt the way the blood rushed to her cheeks and she cursed her own aliveness for the second time that evening. “I mean if that’s weird, we can totally just pretend I never said anything and go on with our night…”

Yeji put out a gentle hand, “No it’s not… It’s not weird… It’s just…” She sighed, “This is kind of a big deal, like are you sure?”

Ryujin shrugged, “I trust you. And you said it wouldn’t hurt, so I’m not afraid.”

Yeji reached out for Ryujin’s hand and cradled it in her lap, rubbing her thumb along the soft skin on the inside of her palm. “It won’t hurt, I promise you. But you might feel kinda light headed afterwards.”

“That’s bloodloss for you.” Ryujin said in an attempt to lighten the atmosphere. Yeji laughed quietly, and Ryujin took that as a cue to shift closer. “How am I supposed to do this?”

Yeji smiled awkwardly, “Uhm, you could stay still I guess.. I’ll work out the rest.” She spun on the seat so that she was facing Ryujin side on. “Just punch me or something if you want me to stop, or if you get uncomfortable or anything.”

“It’s ok Yeji,” Ryujin said softly, “I’ll be fine.”

“But still, If you feel even a little uncomfortable…” 

Ryujin cut her off. “Just do it already,” She laughed as she spoke, trying to hide just how nervous she really was. 

Yeji shifted, slowly at first, soft to the touch, careful with where she put her hands. She cupped Ryujin’s cheek with one hand and tilted her head to the side. After a long moment, Yeji lowered her head into the crook of Ryujin's neck.

Ryujin expected to feel piercing teeth, but instead, she only felt the gentle touch of Yeji’s lips pressing against her skin.

They were cold, but the sensation wasn’t unpleasant. The moment was small, a gentle beat of silence, and then there were fangs, sharp and piercing sliding in and settling somewhere in a thick artery. Yeji had been right, it didn’t hurt, the numbing was completely and utterly bodily consuming and the only sensation she could feel was that of Yeji’s other hand cupping her cheek. 

It was grounding, in a way. She could feel an overwhelming sense of absence, and the feeling of the fangs buried in her neck was oddly reassuring. Yeji was gentle, didn’t push against her as she took the blood, and when she was finished, she pulled away. Retracted her fangs and ran her tongue over the two puncture holes. 

There was no blood. That was the first thing Ryujin noticed. The second was the lack of contact against her cheek, Yeji had, at some point, pulled her hand away, and now had it folded in her lap. She sat stiffly and almost seemed afraid to look Ryujin in the eye. 

Ryujin felt the dizziness wash over her. Sudden and spinning, she felt herself wobble, and Yeji reached out immediately to stabilize her. “Don’t let go.” Ryujin said softly. Her eyes were half lidded, and she became suddenly aware that they were awfully close to the ground again. “I don’t think I can get off.” She paused and murmured quietly, “Do you think they’d let us go around again?”

Yeji smiled, “I’ll ask.”

The ride slowed to a stop and Yeji spoke to the operator. He seemed rather unbothered, seeing as there were no other customers in the line. The carriage began to move again and Ryujin pressed herself against Yeji. Yeji tucked a comforting arm behind her and held her tightly, rubbing her thumb in comforting circles.

“Are you doing alright?” Yeji asked.

Ryujin hummed, low and lilting, “Yeah… I see what you meant about the dizziness.”

“We should get your blood sugar up, that might help.” 

Ryujin only hummed again, “Or… you could kiss me again.”

Yeji stiffened and Ryujin felt the hand rubbing circles on her waist freeze abruptly. “I didn’t… I mean…”

Ryujin would never usually be this bold, but tonight she’d been broken up with, had her heart consequently broken, and she’d even been bitten by a vampire. There wasn’t much left for her to be afraid of. “I mean only if you wanted to. I wouldn’t mind.”

Yeji’s face seemed a little more flushed than Ryujin thought was possible, although she assumed that was due to the blood she’d just consumed. 

Ryujin reached out a hand. Yeji’s mouth hung slightly open and her canines were ever so slightly exposed, they had retracted back to an average size. Ryujin pressed a finger against one sliding the pad of her finger up and dragging it down across Yeji’s lips. They felt slightly swollen and Yeji shuddered a little at the prolonged contact.

Ryujin latched her hand onto Yeji’s chin and pulled her in, pausing only when they were inches apart. “Is this ok?” Ryujin asked as she gazed meaningfully into Yeji’s eyes. 

Yeji swallowed, she almost looked afraid, but she nodded and refused to move away. “Yeah,” she said quietly, 

Ryujin slowly pulled herself closer. Yeji’s mouth was warmer than she remembered, though she supposed that that too was from the blood intake. She tucked her hand along the side of Yeji’s face, and smiled into the kiss when she felt Yeji rest one of her hands against her lower back. 

Ryujin shifted, slinging one leg over Yeji’s knee in an effort to get closer. Yeji swiped her tongue along the inside of Ryujin’s lip, and Ryujin returned the favour. At one point, Yeji’s fangs slid out. They were sharp against Ryujin’s tongue, but they never pierced the skin.

Yeji mumbled an apology, but Ryujin just kissed her harder. Taking Yeji’s face in both hands she smiled, all thoughts of what had happened with Jisu were completely forgotten and at that moment all she could think of was Yeji’s hands, Yeji’s mouth, Yeji’s teeth.

Neither realised the carriage had stopped until a rather timid voice spoke up from behind them. 

“Excuse me ladies..” 

They sprung apart rather quickly. Yeji shot the operator an apologetic glance as she stood quickly and pulled Ryujin up with her. 

They stumbled down the stairs as the gathered queue glared at them and promptly burst into a fit of laughter. Yeji still held onto Ryujin, scared that if she let go, Ryujin would topple over.

Yeji nudged her slightly and began to pull her through the crowd, “Come on, you gotta eat something,” she said softly, “Get your blood sugar up again.”

Ryujin planted her feet, “Kiss me again.” 

Yeji sighed, “Fine,” she said and pulled her in once more before taking her hand and dragging her towards a snow cone stand. 

That evening had been unreal, from start to finish. The snow cone she now ate was colder than Yeji’s hand that still held her upper arm tightly, making sure she stayed upright. But the sugary ice felt rejuvenating as it went down and the fond smile that Yeji offered her every now and then made it all a little easier to believe.

**Author's Note:**

> [twt](https://twitter.com/thekeehorse)  
> • [cc](https://curiouscat.me/ghoulhwa)  
> 


End file.
